• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 2007

The preservation of biological activity of protein drugs in formulation is still a major challenge for successful drug delivery. Lipase was encapsulated in poly (D,L-lactide- co-glycolide) PLGA nano-particles using a w/o/w solvent evaporation technique. The lipase-containing PLGA/poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanoparticles were characterized with regard to morphology, size, size distribution, lipase-loading efficiency, in vitro lipase release, and stability of lipase activity. The size of nanoparticles increased as polymer concentration was increased. The size of particles was not significantly affected by the PVA concentration; on the other hand, the particle size distribution was the narrowest when 4% of PVA was used. In optimum conditions, we possessed nanoparticles that characterized 72.5% of encapsulation efficiency, $198.3{\pm}13.8 nm$ size diameter. During the initial burst phase, the in vitro release rate was very fast, reaching 83% within 12 days. Until days 6, enzyme activity increased as the amount of lipase released was increased.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.527-533
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• 2010

The pioglitazone loaded poly(lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGA) nanospheres were prepared by emulsion-evaporation method and optimized for particle size and entrapment efficiency. The optimized particles were 125~170 nm in size with narrow size distribution and showed above 85% entrapment efficiency at 30% of pioglitazone loading when prepared with 3% w/v of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a surfactant. These particulate carriers exhibited a controlled in vitro release of pioglitazone for 40 days at a nearly constant rate. The pioglitazone loaded PLGA nanospheres were not only effective to reduce the blood sugar level of diabetic rats but also non-toxic for the animal body, in particular for sensitive organs like kidney, liver, heart, lung and spleen. These results indicate that PLGA nanospheres have a great potential for oral delivery of pioglitazone.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.274-281
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• 2010

In this study, PEG-PLA(or PLGA) amphiphilic di-block copolymers were synthesized by ring opening polymerization of D,L-lactide(or glycolide) and applied to polymeric micelle system for solubilization of a rosiglitazone as diabetes drug. The drug could be efficiently loaded into the polymer micelle by solid dispersion technique, and the drug-loaded micelles were characterized and evaluated as a drug delivery carrier by fluorescence spectrometer, DSC, and DLS measurements. The colloidal stability of drug loaded micelles in aqueous media could be enhanced by addition of 2-hydroxy-N-picolylnitinamide as a hydrotropic agent. The polymer micelles also showed biocompatible and nontoxic properties in vitro cell viability using MTT assay, and the drug loaded micelles were observed to be more effective than free drug for decreasing glucose in blood of rats.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.164-164
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• 2008

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.268.2-269
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• 2000

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.717-724
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• 2008

In this study, we prepared all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-encapsulated, surfactant-free, PLGA nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were formed by nanoprecipitation process, after which the solvent was removed by solvent evaporation or dialysis method. When a nanoparticle was prepared by the nanoprecipitation - solvent evaporation method, the nanoparticles were bigger than the nanoparticles of the nanoprecipitation - dialysis method, despite the higher although loading efficiency. Nanoparticles from the nanoprecipitation - dialysis method were smaller than 200 nm in diameter, while the loading efficiency was not significantly changed. Especially, nanoparticles prepared from DMAc, 1,4-dioxane, and DMF had a diameter of less than 100 nm. In the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations, all of the nanoparticles showed spherical shapes. The loading efficiency of ATRA was higher than 90% (w/w) at all formulations with exception of THF. The drug content was increased with increasing drug-feeding amount while the loading efficiency was decreased. In the drug release study, an initial burst was observed for $2{\sim}6$ days according to the variations of the formulation, after which the drug was continuously released over one month. Nanoparticles from the nanoprecipitation - dialysis method showed faster drug release than those from the nanoprecipitation - solvent evaporation method. The decreased drug release kinetics was observed at lower drug contents. In the tumor cell cytotoxicity test, ATRA-encapsulated, surfactant-free, PLGA nanoparticles exhibited similar cytotoxicity with that of ATRA itself.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.85-96
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• 2015

This study developed biodegradable bi-layered drug-eluting beads and investigated the in-vitro release of fluorouracil and cisplatin from the beads. To manufacture the drug-eluting beads, poly[(d,l)-lactide-co-glycolide] (PLGA) with lactide:glycolide ratios of 50:50 and 75:25 were mixed with fluorouracil or cisplatin. The mixture was compressed and sintered at $55^{\circ}C$ to form bi-layered beads. An elution method was employed to characterize the release characteristic of the pharmaceuticals over a 30-day period at $37^{\circ}C$. The influence of polymer type (i.e., 50:50 or 75:25 PLGA) and layer layout on the release characteristics was investigated. The experiment suggested that biodegradable beads released high concentrations of fluorouracil and cisplatin for more than 30 days. The 75:25 PLGA released the pharmaceuticals at a slower rate than the 50:50 PLGA. In addition, the bi-layered structure reduced the release rate of drugs from the core layer of the beads. By adopting the compression sintering technique, we will be able to manufacture biodegradable beads for long-term drug delivery of various anti-cancer pharmaceuticals.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.191-196
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• 2001

Biodegradable polymeric microspheres were studied for their usefulness as carriers for the delivery of vaccine antigens. However, protein antigen could be denatured during microencapsulation processes due to the exposure to the organic phase and stress condition of cavitation and shear force. Therefore this study was carried out to re-evaluate the degree of protein denaturation during microencapsulation with poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) copolymer. PLGA microspheres containing ovalbumin (OVA), prepared by W/O/W multiple emulsification method, were suspended in pH 7.4 PBS and incubated with shaking at $37.5^{\circ}C$. Drug released medium was collected periodically and analyzed for protein contents by micro-BCA protein assay. In order to evaluate the protein integrity, release medium was subjected to the analyses of SDS-PAGE and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). And enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was introduced to measure the immunoreactivity of entrapped OVA and to get an insight into the three-dimensional structure of epitope. The structures of entrapped protein were not affected significantly by the results of SDS-PAGE and SEC. However, immunoreactivity of released antigen was varied, revealing the possibility of protein denaturation in some microspheres when it was evaluate by ELISA method. Therefore, in order to express the degree of protein denaturation, antigenicity ratio (AR) was obtained as follows: amount of immunoreactivity of OVA/total amount of OVA released ${\times}100(%)$. ELISA method was an efficient tool to detect a protein denaturation during microencapsulation and the comparison of AR values resulted in more accurate evaluation for immunoreactivity of entrapped protein.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.183-188
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• 2003

The controlled delivery of anticancer agents using biodegradable polymeric implant has been developed to solve the problem of penetration of blood brain barrier and severe systemic toxicity. This study was performed to prepare 5-FU-loaded poly (L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) wafer fabricated microparticles prepared by two different method and to evaluate their release profile for the application of the treatment of brain tumor. 5-FU-loaded PLGA microparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). SEM observation of the 5-FU-loaded PLGA microparticles prepared by rotary solvent evaporation method showed that 5-FU was almost surrounded by PLGA and significant reduction of crystallinity of 5-FU was confirmed by XRD. In case of release profile of 5-FU from 5-FU-loaded PLGA wafer fabricated microparticles prepared by mechanical mixing, the release profile of 5-FU followed near first order release kinetics. In contrast to the above result, release profile of 5-FU from 5-FU-loaded PLGA wafer fabricated microparticles prepared by rotary solvent evaporation method followed near zero order release kinetics. These results indicate that preparation method of the 5-FU-loaded PLGA microparticles to fabricate into wafers was contributed to drug release profile.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.727-732
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• 2013

In this report, we present an inverse opal scaffold that can enhance the chondrogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) without drug, gene, or cytokine supplement. Inverse opal scaffolds based on poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) were formed with uniform $200{\mu}m$ pores. Due to uniform pore sizes and well-controlled interconnectivity of inverse opal scaffold, hADSCs were allowed to distribute homogeneously throughout the scaffolds. As a result, high cell density culture with scaffold was possible. Since the hADSCs cultured in inverse opal scaffolds were subjected to limited supplies of oxygen and nutrients, these cells were naturally preconditioned to a hypoxic environment that stimulated the up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-$1{\alpha}$ (HIF-$1{\alpha}$). As a result, apoptotic activity of hADSCs until 3 weeks after initial cell seeding was significantly reduced and chondrogenic differentiation related molecular signal cascades were up regulated (transforming growth factor-beta, phosphorylated AKT, and phosphorylated p38 expression). In contrast, hADSCs cultured with small and non-uniform porous scaffolds showed significantly increased apoptotic activity with decreased chondrogenic differentiation. Taken together, inverse opal scaffold could potentially be used as an effective tool for improving chondrogenesis using stem cells.